'Bureaucrats, politicians ran parallel excise system in Chhattisgarh': ED attaches Rs 38.21 cr assets

The Enforcement Directorate has attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 38.21 crore belonging to Niranjan Das, then Excise Commissioner of Chhattisgarh, and 30 other excise officials, in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam, according to news agency ANI. The probe agency claimed the alleged scam caused a loss of over Rs 2,800 crore to the state exchequer.

The action has been taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of the agency's ongoing investigation into what it described as a "massive" excise fraud. According to the ED, the revised loss estimate of over Rs 2,800 crore is based on further revelations during the probe.

The probe agency detailed the scale of assets attached. Immovable properties valued at Rs 21.64 crore include 78 properties ranging from luxury bungalows and flats in premium housing complexes to commercial shop spaces and extensive agricultural land holdings.

Movable assets worth Rs 16.56 crore include 197 items such as high-value fixed deposits, balances across multiple bank accounts, life insurance policies, and a diversified portfolio of equity shares and mutual funds.

The ED said its investigation has uncovered the existence of a criminal syndicate involving senior bureaucrats and political figures, which allegedly "completely hijacked" the Chhattisgarh Excise Department. The agency alleged that Arun Pati Tripathi, then Managing Director of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), along with Niranjan Das, spearheaded a parallel excise system.

According to the ED, this parallel system operated by bypassing statutory state controls and procedures, allowing the syndicate to generate "massive illegal earnings" from liquor operations.